LAKEPORT— The Ferndale High football team will move ahead to the Division 7 championship game after holding on for a 20-12 win over Clear Lake on Friday night.
It didn’t always look that way though, holding on to a 13-12 lead, the Wildcats’ punted the ball back to the Cardinals with four minutes remaining and Clear Lake steadily crept down the field and into Ferndale territory.
Rain was a constant Friday night but it reared its head on that final drive as Clear Lake fumbled the snap and as ball lay on the ground, players’ on both sides dove but it ended up in the hands of Ferndale linebacker Wes Renner.
Shortly after getting the ball back, quarterback Tanner Pidgeon ran for a long touchdown to put Ferndale up eight points, but with the quick score giving Clear Lake one more chance to tie it up. But it didn’t matter. Ferndale got another stop and forced a turnover on downs with less than a minute remaining and picked up the road win to advance to the North Coast Section championship game next weekend.
Ferndale will face Willits High School after Willits defeated Kelseyville 31-7 in its NCS semi-final on Friday. The Wildcats will be back on the road the day after Thanksgiving in a neutral site, Ukiah High School, for their championship game.
The Wildcats will look to get off to a better start than they did against Clear Lake. On the first play of the game, the Cardinals took the opening kickoff for a touchdown as Ferndale immediately found themselves trailing 6-0 after Clear Lake missed the point after attempt.
Ferndale answered with a rushing touchdown by sophomore Prescott Langer and a made PAT to take the lead in the first quarter. The Wildcats’ defense then forced a punt getting the ball back to the offense.
But on the first play of Ferndale’s drive, the team coughed up a fumble which was returned for a touchdown by Clear Lake safety Hank Ollenberger, a failed two-point attempt gave Clear Lake a 12-7 lead early in the second quarter. As the half wore on, the offenses started opening up their passing games after staying predominantly on the ground to start the game, but it didn’t lead to any scoring as they went to the half with Ferndale still down five.
The go-ahead score came for Ferndale when running back Trent Titus scored from a few yards out. The Wildcats’ two-point try was no good which gave them the 13-12 lead that the defense held and then the offense grew.
It’s been quite the turnaround for Ferndale football, after going 2-8 last year with no conference wins. The team now finds themselves in a section championship game after multiple road playoff wins and a record of 8-4 before next week’s Division 7 section title. For their part, the Cardinals finished the regular season 9-2 with a 7-1 League record.
Clear Lake did not look like the dominant team which racked up double digit wins during the regular season and which ended up with a co-championship of the North Central I League, in part due to the injury which sidelined starting quarterback Jake Soderquist.
Ferndale and Willits have played three of the same opponents, with Ferndale going 3-0 while Willits went 2-1, as Willits fell to Clear Lake 26-10 last month.
While the weather predicts a drier game in Ukiah on Friday than the one the Wildcats’ played in Friday night, Ferndale will look to reign supreme as section champs.
Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.
